Planetary Science
- Astronomy
New Horizons’ next target has been dubbed Ultima Thule
NASA has named New Horizons spacecraft’s next target Ultima Thule after the public suggested tens of thousands of monikers for the Kuiper Belt object.
- Planetary Science
Cosmic dust may create Mars’ wispy clouds
Magnesium left by passing comets seeds the clouds of Mars, a new study suggests.
- Planetary Science
4 surprising things we just learned about Jupiter
Polar cyclones, surprisingly deep atmosphere and a fluid mass spinning as a rigid body are among the latest discoveries at Jupiter.
- Planetary Science
How a vaporized Earth might have cooked up the moon
A high-speed collision turned the early Earth into a hot, gooey space doughnut, and the moon formed within this synestia, a new simulation suggests.
- Planetary Science
Readers weigh in on human gene editing and more
Readers debated feeling morally obligated to edit their kid's genes and had questions about exoplanets.
- Planetary Science
What will it take to go to Venus?
Undeterred by funding woes, scientists are scraping together ideas to tackle heat, pressure and acidity challenges of landing on Venus.
- Planetary Science
Massive dust storms are robbing Mars of its water
Mars was once lush with water. A new analysis of Martian climate data shows a mechanism that might have helped dehydrate the planet.
- Planetary Science
Shallow ice sheets discovered on Mars could aid future astronauts
Exposed water ice on steep Martian slopes suggest there’s a lot within a meter or two of the surface.
- Planetary Science
Hubble telescope ramps up search for Europa’s watery plumes
Astronomers are redoubling their efforts to confirm that the icy moon Europa spews water from its south pole.
- Planetary Science
How to keep humans from ruining the search for life on Mars
As the race to put humans on Mars heats up, researchers worry they are running out of time to find life on the Red planet.
- Planetary Science
NASA is headed to Earth’s outermost edge
NASA’s upcoming GOLD mission will study the charged border between Earth and space.
- Astronomy
Aliens ruled out for why Tabby’s star flickers
The first real-time observations of Tabby’s star flickering put the final nail in the “alien megastructure” coffin.
